The Amplification Effect and five ideas
March 03, 2013 
Jason Kallsen 
If there is one thing most restaurants and retailers fail to see, it’s what I call the Amplification Effect, or AE for short. The AE is what happens when a few very simple changes are instituted or habits are formed, that each feed off each other, and make the sum far greater than the parts.
The perils of blind tasting (and results of the Pinot Noir Battle)
January 27, 2013 Jason Kallsen 
Yesterday was the annual Twin Cities Wine Pinot Noir Battle, in which we serve a wide variety of incredible Pinots side by side in a blind format (bottles wrapped in foil, with no details revealed) to determine crowd favorites and see if price actually does matter. Before I get to the results let’s talk a
An open letter to Minnesota restaurants
January 21, 2013 Jason Kallsen 
I’ve been eating out quite a bit in the last month, much to the disagreement of my household budget. But what the hell, you only live once, right? Plus there are so many great dining options in the state today (current favorites, as in the tip-top of the list of late, have been Zeitgeist and
Facelift coming soon
October 27, 2012 Jason Kallsen 
Whew!!! It’s been a crazy (let me rephrase that: WONDERFULLY CRAZY) last six months. The launch and establishment of The Wine Company’s website and blog is done (The Wine Company is my daytime employer and hands down the best and coolest distributor in town). I’ve also launched Minnesota Flavor which is expanding my world of
The cost of a wine vs. the value of a wine
April 21, 2012 Jason Kallsen 
On the wholesale side of the business, the pricing of wine by the gigantic wineries and companies is a strange, mysterious art form. These big companies know this best, which explains why a mass production wine is $13.99 at one store and $7.99 at another (or $5.99 in New Jersey). Sliding scales, quantity buys (in states
New kid on the block: The Savvy Lush
April 14, 2012 Jason Kallsen 
Out of nowhere, a spirited young woman named Allison has hit the wine scene. Welcome The Savvy Lush to the Twin Cities wine world. She’s a good one to have here. Not everybody understands the balance between being knowledgeable and being boastful. (Or, to put it another way, there are a few bad eggs in
An open letter to Minnesota wine retailers
January 23, 2012 Jason Kallsen 
Hello my retailer friends. You are the ones that find great wines for me, and the ones that enthusiastically greet me when I walk in the door. You are the ones that I see come alive when a good customer arrives, and get excited when a good bottle is opened near you. Shhhhhhhh…. come closer
A stunning Pinot Noir comparison
October 27, 2011 Jason Kallsen 
Last evening I conducted a Pinot Noir Masterclass at North Loop Wine and Spirits. A dozen people plus myself enjoyed a great evening of education and tasting going over the history, styles, nuance, food pairings, and future of Pinot Noir. I split the class into two parts. The first half was tasting a variety of
